Sir Ryder of Cupp

Ryder is one of our cats. He originally belonged to my mother-in-law. She had a hard time deciding on a name for him. She toyed with "Nickel" and "Baby" but neither name felt just right. The Ryder Cup golf tournament was held in Rochester that year and finally she decided on "Ryder Cup." Ryder soon made it apparent that he was of royal standing and thus became SIR RYDER OF CUPP.

My Mom Is

Saturday, December 18, 2010

I stopped posting on the Sir Ryder of Cupp blog, because I dreaded I would have to write of his passing. Unbelievably, Ryder is alive, kicking and brilliantly acting the part of a grouchy old man. He still has some bad days health wise but manages to recover. When he is sick, he lies in the bathtub so we refer to it as the hospital. He still has his beautiful coat and moves spryly and loves getting new toys.

This past year, he has used his nursing skills to take care of me. I am a cancer patient now and he is there to console me when I'm having a down day. He took excellent care of his first mommy too.

He continues to bully Shasta and anyone else who strikes his fancy, especially if he is not feeling well.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Ryder, in a true display of royal arrogance, gave me that "So?" look and went back to napping when I told him that he had won an award for excellence. However, I am sure that he thanks all his fellow felines at The Zoo for so generously giving him this honor.

To give you all an update on his health, he is doing quite well. He has some bad times but much of the time, he is well enough to really annoy his sister, Shasta. Thank you all for your thoughts and purr-ers.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

People often comment on Ryder's regal bearing. Here he demonstrates the correct form for relaxation. Notice the angle at which the head is held, and the placement of ears to enhance the silhouette. Above all, notice the elegance rendered by the carefully crossed feet. Closed eyes are allowed if everything else is done correctly.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Ryder says: My mom says that now that I feel a little better I have to clean my room. My room is located under a china cabinet that belonged to my first Mom. I chose this spot because both my moms keep my catnip in a drawer right above my space. I have to have a catnip fix everyday unless I'm real sick.

In my room, I have two sheets of tissue paper about two years old, the bottom half of a gift box acquired at Christmas time, a plastic bag I stole in the night, and some of my favorite toys. I finally got my room just the way I want it and she says I have to clean it up!

Mom says: I have always taken pride in having a clean and tidy house and I find it embarrassing that Ryder has created this mess right in the living room. Besides, now he spends most of his time in his makeshift bed. I think it's time for some housecleaning.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Ryder (black and white cat) was recently diagnosed with liver disease. When he was quite critical recently, I made him a "temporary" bed from a plastic storage box and a blanket. At that point, he was too weak to jump into his favorite chair or on a bed.

Shasta (white cat) makes a point of checking on his condition frequently, as you can see from this photo. In fact, it was her behavior regarding Ryder that convinced us that something was seriously wrong with Ryder.

Their roles have been reversed. Ryder was always nurse to the "beans"; now Shasta is nurse to Ryder.

Each year I have this Charlie Brown Christmas tree on a stand in my little sitting room. Other people laugh at it but I LIKE IT.

Ryder likes it too. He snoops in the gifts to see if there's anything for him (there isn't because I learned long ago that he could find his gifts and opened them as soon as he had located them).

I'm grateful to have this picture because we had just received word from the vet that Ryder has liver disease. We take his health day-to-day and pray for as many good days as the Lord sees fit to give him. He is thirteen but we had hoped to have him until he was thirty...........